Any Little Word
by NewsiesRacetrack88
Summary: Henry sits behind Natalie in class, he wants to talk to her, but can't find the words.  He sits all class trying to say something to her... just one little word.  FIRST NEXT TO NORMAL STORY!  Yay for me!  I hope.
1. Just one word

**yeah... so HI! this is my fist Next To Normal Story! YAY FOR ME! I guess... **

**Well, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but I decided to turn it into a three-part ADVENTURE! well not really an adventure... more of an... event. **

**Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Next To Normal because I am not as awesome as those who do.**

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Henry sat behind her, just waiting for the perfect time to talk to her. There was so many times where he could have started a conversation_. _

_Hey, can I borrow a pencil? Damn! A Pop quiz? Wish I had studied! Did you see that car accident in the parking lot this morning? _So many opportunities, but every time one came up, his mouth refused to open, and words refused to come out.

There, Henry sat, today was the day. He was going to talk to her. Any minute now. Any second. The clock ticked on the wall at the front of the classroom. Any second. He had all class, one full hour to say just one word. The clocked ticked away. A half hour left to say anything, anything at all.

_Come on, Henry!_ He thought to himself. _Only fifteen minutes left. Just one word! Any little word! Say Hello... even hi would work! _Any_ word!_

Five minutes left.

_Damn it, Henry! One little word!_ The class was starting to pack up. The kids were huddled in the back talking now, but not her, she was sitting at her desk, tapping her fingers to a sort of tune.

_She plays the piano!_ Henry realized, noticing the rhythmic way she tapped her fingers. _That's something we have in common! Talk about that!_

But it was too late; Henry was too late. The bell rang, and she was the first out the door, as always. Henry sighed, and gathered up his things.

_Tomorrow. _ He thought, _tomorrow for sure._

_

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_**And so that plot thickens... or at least the main conflict was introduced... **

**As you can tell, my chapters are very short. This one is only nearly 300 words long. **


	2. Henry's worst nightmare

**AHOY MATTIES! THIS BE CHAPTER TWO! *cough cough* I don't really know where pirate me came from... OH WELL! That's what insanity does to you!**

**I guess I should disclaim upon this chapter as well, I wouldn't want to get sued or anything! You know... again. **

**I Don't own Next to Normal or any of its characters no matter how AMAZING they might be... *looks fondly over at Henry and Gabe.***

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Henry was sitting in class. The dreaded clock ticked away. There she was, looking as beautiful as ever.

_Now or never._ Henry told himself. He opened his mouth; he was going to say something this time. He knew what he was going to say, one little word: hello. The word was about leave his lips, but he stopped himself. "Hello" was a bit too formal, he thought. "Hi" was more casual.

_On the count of three. One... two... three… DAMN IT! Why is this so hard?_ Then Henry realized… "Hi" was too nerdy. He never realized how nerdy it was before… because it was never nerdy before. He was just going crazy with nerves… nerves? He just wanted to say hello, why was he nervous? Henry decided "Hey" was better than "Hi." "Hey" sounded more laid back.

_But what if she thinks I'm a tool? No. Now or never, remember? _He got ready to speak, but, once again, he froze. Was it weird to say a greeting? They were half an hour into the class; maybe he should wait for an excuse…

_ NO! Stop procrastinating. Just say Hey. _Henry opened his mouth. He ignored, with great effort, all of his doubts and fears, and heard the words leave his lips, but none of the words were "hey." With horror, Henry comprehended what he said.

"I love you." Why didn't he stop himself? The words left his mouth uncontrollably.

_NO! Oh God oh God! I'm such an idiot… maybe she didn't hear me!_ But she heard him. She turned around and glared at him angrily.

"What did you say to me?" She growled, her beautiful eyes piercing Henry's.

"I-I-"

"Oh-my-GOD!" A girl from a few rows over giggled, "Henry just told Natalie he loved her!" The class erupted in laughter. Even the teacher laughed. Henry looked around in terror, and then he looked back at her. Her angry glare did not disappear from her face, but she had joined the class in laughter. The teacher wrote in large letters on the black board: HENRY LOVES NATALIE.

"Attention all students," The voice over the intercom said, "Attention! Henry LOVES Natalie!" Laughter rang out through the entire school. Students and teachers crowded into Henry's classroom.

Henry sat up in bed. He sighed with relief.

_It was just a dream- a pretty bad one!_ He looked at the clock, he still had about an hour left of sleep, but he did not dare close his eyes again.

_Tomorrow has to be the day! _ Henry told himself, _before I _completely_ lose my mind!_

_

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_**Tis the conclusion of chapter two... what shall happen next? YOU WON'T KNOW UNTIL I WRITE MORE! MUHAHAHA! Wait... what's that? You don't care? Oh well... You still won't know! **


	3. The Sound

**Welcome to chapter three. Once you enter... there is no way out... unless you like close the window or press the previous button or go to a different page or something. Please enjoy or I will kill you. I'm just kidding... I'll have my dinosaur kill you, why should I get my hands dirty? **

**I should probably do some MORE disclaiming just in case. Here is the disclaimer I previously spoke of**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of Next To Normal **

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It was the first class of the day. Henry sat, waiting for the teacher- and her- to come into the room. Plenty of things ran through his head. His Biology test that he was certainly going to fail, his half finished Algebra homework, his one-and-a-half page English essay, but mostly he thought of her. He thought about class and what he was going to say to her.

_'Hey.'_ He repeated the word in his head. The one little word that could change his relationship with her forever, but would it? It was, after all, just one word. He would have to say more than "Hey" for a friendship to form between the two of them. But "Hey" was certainly a start, a start that was six years too late.

It had to be quick, as soon as she sat down, or it would sound too awkward. Henry was not going to chicken out, or mess up like he did in his dream. She walked in. Henry's heart raced, even faster than it usually did when he saw her. She sat down.

_Now or Never,_ Henry told himself, and he took a deep breath, he opened his mouth and then…

"Okay class! Pop quiz!" The teacher walked in the room, and the class groaned. "Natalie, do you mind passing these out?" She nodded and took the quizzes from his hand. She did not even look at Henry when she put the paper on his desk. Henry sighed. If he was going with "now or never," it looked like it was going to be never.

After School that day, Henry wandered aimlessly through the halls. He was not ready to go home just yet, he had some things to think about, and he couldn't do that with his mom nagging him. He turned a corner; a sweet sound was coming from down the hall, from the music room. Someone was playing the piano. He remembered how she had tapped her fingers in class the previous day, could this be her playing? He needed to find out. He walked thoughtlessly down the hall, as though the song had put him into a trance.

He peered though the window in the closed door. There she was. Playing the piano so fluently, he had never seen anything so perfect, yet she seemed so stressed. Henry sat outside the door for a few moments, just listening to her flawless playing.

Without really thinking, without really realizing he was doing it, Henry turned the door handle and walked into the room.

"Um…" Was all He could say after he realized what he had done. "Um" was a sound, the first he was able to make in her presence, but it was not a word.

For months, Henry thought that he would have to break the ice, but she spoke first. For months, Henry was trying with all of his might to say one word to her, one little word, but she was able to say twelve to him with great ease.

"I still have this practice room for seven and a half minutes."

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**YAY! Thats the end! Thanks for the applause! although I'm sure it's because its over and not because it was good... oh well! I'm sure my dinosaur thought it was good, didn't you Dino?**

**Dinosaur: Rawrrawrrawr!**

**DINO! That was very rude!**

**Dinosaur: RAWRrawrrawr!**

**Aw, who asked you anyways?**

**Dinosaur: Rawrrawr.**

**Shut up.**


	4. The girl he knew

**So I decided to add this little chapter cause I wanted to. I thought it would be nice to add in something from "Hey" because of that whole "Hey" thing from that one chapter I wrote way back when... two days ago...**

**STOP! DISCLAIMER TIME!**

**Next To Normal I own not! **

**Disclaimer in Yoda talk! That's how we roll on Mars! Or Irk... or Gallifrey... whichever one...**

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For a while, Henry was completely happy with Natalie. He was there for her when she was sad, and she always made him happy. Why did he have to introduce her to pot? He always heard that it was the gateway drug, but he never believed any of it. She took it way to far. All he wanted to do was get rid of some of her stress, not turn her into a messed up drug addict.

It had been weeks since Henry saw her. The last time he saw her, he had brought her home from a club after she had gone a bit over board. It was the night her mother came home from the hospital. She called him the day after, but that was the last time her heard from her. Since the second semester had begun, she was not in his class anymore, and he never saw her in school. He knew he would not find her at her locker because she never used it, and she did not even play the piano anymore so he knew he would not find her in the music room. Henry figured she just needed some space, and eventually she would call him again. But that day did not come.

Henry could wait no longer. He had to see her; he had to make sure she was okay. During Spanish, he pulled out his phone and sent her a text from under his desk.

_Nat, meet me by the music room after school. We need to talk. _

There was no reply. Henry waited for two hours outside of the music room after school, but she never showed up. Henry sighed. He thought back to the girl he had known, the beautiful and mysterious girl who sat in front of him, the talented girl who could play Mozart pieces flawlessly, the girl he could not even say "hey" to. Henry missed that girl. He hated the girl he created with his stupid pot.

The next day, Henry saw her. She looked pale and she had black circles under her eyes, like she had not slept in days. Henry hated seeing her that way, but he was happy to see her anyway. Henry had to act fast before she got out of his sight, and this time he was not going to chicken out. He approached her and called out the word he was not able to say to her all of those months ago.

"Hey!"

~Fin~

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**HEY! So, Dino, what did you think of THIS ending?**

**Dino: RAWRrawrrawr!**

**Well, yeah it was a bit rushed, so what? I was excited to get it all out!**

**Dino: RAWRRAWRrawr!**

**Everyone's a critic... **


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